Hello, My Fellow Peters, I’m here again with another interesting, limited-edition event for you guys. For this time, we will accompany my teacher in reminiscing about his glory days. Let us introduce my Writ 37 teacher that I highly recommend everyone to take, Mr. Julian T Smith-Newman. He is currently my favorite teacher and probably the best writing teacher I’ve ever had, but that’s enough fan grilling. During the interview I had with my professor, we talked about his journey and experience to reach where he is right now. Although this may have been a 49-minute interview, it felt more like a conversation because of how some of the lessons and ideals talked about is something I can stand by. After getting simple introductions out the way, I started off with a simple question to better understand why he chose to be a teacher at UCI and what happened along the way. Keep in mind, as much as I would love to put our dear readers through a 49-minute interview. I know many of us would love to spend the rest of their time here and read my blogs, but I’m willing to sacrifice and only give you some of the key pointers that stood out to me.
Mr. Julian during his earlier days, he went to Columbia for college and studied English/literature and also a little bit of art history. He moved around a lot due to his interest in African history, he studied Swahili and writing. Personally, I love my friends and making memorable connections, but I would love to travel the world while being in school. That’s why I thought it was really interesting because he was able to not only drive his passion for writing into other parts of the world, but he was able to have fun with it. Many of my peers now adays pursue dreams that can assure them a stable future financially, which is of course not bad but personally I don’t believe that should be all there is to it (Sorry not sorry). Of course, I’m not ignorant to the variables of the world and forget that not many people are fortunate enough to choose what they want but when life give you lemons, make lemonade (I think that’s how it goes). We dug a little deeper and talked about as to how he became a UCI professor. He was pursuing his masters and the funding for his master’s program allowed him to teach one class every quarter as a student. After he graduated in 2015, he won an award that put him in a financially stable situation but not wanting to wait for a crisis to occur. He soughed out Jobs that could cover for his personal expenses, eventually he saw that continuing teaching would be the most optimal path for him as it would allow him to “carve out time” for his own personal hobbies. This is something that I believe a lot of people should work towards, a life that is balanced enough to allow time for other interests, but when does life work out the way you want it. Following on this statement, I asked more about his personally struggles in college. Thankfully Mr. Julian wasn’t adamant on sharing his past struggles. He expressed his uncertainty in choosing his career path and he explains how the constant question of “why”, is something that can be relatable to many and not just him. I was very much caught by the idea of how no matter the time or generation, these sought of situation ended up being common in the lives of others. In a way it can of creates a sense of community because under one goal which is “success” even though it is subjective to everyone, we still share a certain level of pain among one another and having a community helps drive one another. Another beautiful comment that was mentioned by Mr. Julien that really caught my attention is “it’s good to be committed to your studies on one hand, but it’s not good to be ruled by your studies”, I personally resonate with this line because I believe myself to be a spontaneous person. Trust me guys, I have *good grades* and I have dreams that I aspire to achieve. Despite all of this, I don’t ever want to look back on my life and my only memorable moments were in the library or in my room. Before I go, I feel like I need to explain this better because I would hate for any of my readers to feel targeted. Being studious is not a bad thing, likewise, keeping your eye on the bag. It all boils down to preference, some people might see little need in socializing and love reading or vice versa. That’s why I’m hoping no one feels targeted, but if it is someone is unhappy with their current social life. Change it, it’s never too late for anything and you heard that from me so it’s valid.
This Is your favorite blogger running to class *like genuinely, I’m so late to class right now*.